Skip to content
ChronicleHelp centerDownload

AI & costs

Understand and control AI costs

What can create provider charges, why costs vary, and how to pause or stop spending.

5 minute readReviewed July 26, 2026
On this page

You pay the provider you choose

Chronicle uses bring your own key (BYOK). Google, Anthropic, or OpenAI bills the account connected to that key. Chronicle does not set provider prices or issue provider invoices.

Actions that can make API calls

  • Validating a provider and model in Settings.
  • Describing a first version.
  • Comparing a new version with the previous one.
  • Creating text embeddings for semantic search.
  • Embedding a search query when meaning-based search is enabled.

Capturing bytes, browsing cached history, keyword search, and restore do not require a provider call.

Why usage varies

Cost depends on the provider, model, image size, amount of text, number of saved versions, retries, and the provider's current pricing. Chronicle cannot promise a free tier, fixed price, or exact monthly cost.

Limit or stop spending

  1. Review the provider's usage dashboard.
  2. Choose lower-cost models where available.
  3. Set provider budgets or spend caps when offered.
  4. Clear the provider key in Chronicle to stop new calls.
  5. Revoke the key at the provider if you no longer need it.

Already completed provider requests may still appear on a later invoice.

Was this guide not enough?

Tell us the Chronicle version, operating system, exact message, and the steps you tried. Never share an API key or creative file.

Ask the Chronicle team